Each year, more than 550 of Oregon's top leaders gather at the Center for Women's Leadership's Annual Power Lunch to celebrate another year of inspiring leadership stories. This year, we gathered public nominations for women to honor at the event, as a result, we found some great candidates. Help us recognize this year’s honorees!

Award Categories

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTAwarded to a woman who has a longstanding record of community impact and public service.

TRANSFORMING POLICYAwarded to a woman who advances gender equity within the fields of policy, law, or advocacy.

BOLSTERING COMMUNITYAwarded to a woman who shows leadership and integrity within the civic or business sphere.

EMERGING LEADERAwarded to a woman whose work is make a big impact in their community.

Lifetime Achievement

Connie Ashbrook was Executive Director of Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. for 21 years, retiring in 2017. She worked in the trades for 17 years before coming on staff with OTI in 1996. She co-founded OTI in 1989 and served the organization as a volunteer before putting down the tools to work full-time for OTI. Previous to her years with OTI, she worked in the trades as a dump truck driver, carpenter apprentice and elevator constructor. She was the first woman in Oregon to become licensed as an elevator mechanic. Connie served on the Oregon State Apprenticeship and Training Council for nine years, seven years on the Federal Advisory Committee on Registered Apprenticeship and is currently co-chair of the National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues. She is passionate about working to achieve gender, racial, economic and environmental justice. Under her leadership, thousands of diverse women and girls gained information about careers in the building, construction, mechanical, manufacturing and utility trades, and hundreds of women moved into high-wage, high-skilled trades careers.

Transforming Policy

Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson was the first Latina elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. She’s a mother. She’s a strategic moderator. She always does her research. And she is Transforming Policy in Multnomah County.

We’re honoring Commissioner Vega Pederson because her leadership is shaping a brighter future for our communities. Since she was elected to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners in 2016, she has fought for policies that combat climate disruption, expand early childhood education and improve the lives of women and families.

She is a champion, leading with grace, compassion and perseverance. We are honored to have her powerful voice on the Center for Women’s Leadership Board because we all shine brighter when we have leaders like Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson in the conversation.

Bolstering Community

Adrienne Livingston is committed to justice, hope and freedom. She’s a force who shines brightly but under the radar. And she is Bolstering Community to combat sex trafficking around the world.

As the Director of Anti-Sex Trafficking Initiatives at WorldVenture, Adrienne Livingston is mobilizing churches, organizations and individuals to see the intersections of sex trafficking and intimate partner violence, poverty, gangs and more. At the grassroots level, person to person, she is taking care of hearts and souls to help young girls build healthy lives for themselves.

We’re honoring Adrienne Livingston because of her impeccable leadership skills, the compassion she brings to her work and her commitment to fighting oppression. Adrienne Livingston is lighting a path forward; she is quiet but powerful.

Emerging Leader

Monica Juarez is a healthcare hero. As the Regional Outreach Coordinator for Oregon Health Authority, Monica is a voice for underserved communities across the state. She has over 15 years of experience working with underserved communities to obtain health coverage and navigate the healthcare system. Monica currently works with community organizations and runs collaborates meetings in six counties in the Willamette Valley for OHP enrollment. She knows the importance of having mentors and giving back, therefore, this year she is mentoring three women: At the state, a woman of color through Leaders Academy.

At OSU, a Latina student through catalyst, a career readiness program. In Mexico, she is sponsoring a college student paying for her education, the student lives in a remote rural area and is struggling to make ends meet to finish her bachelorette degree. She also volunteers at OSU 4-H Oregon Leadership Institute every year, it is a great conference to share her story and let others know that it is possible

We’re honoring Monica Juarez as an Emerging Leader because of her dedication to building healthier communities. She is an advocate, an immigrant, and a woman on the rise.

As a New Leadership Oregon alumna, Monica is using her voice, her strength and her tenacity to light the way for others.

Emerging Leader

Rihanna Mungin is an engineering student at Portland State University who, when asked if she was interested in New Leadership Oregon, wondered about the metrics. She asked about the outcomes she could expect from the experience. Rihanna Mungin is an Emerging Leader who is willing to learn, willing to engage, willing to take a chance.

We’re honoring Rihanna Mungin because she is a star on the rise in a male-dominated field. In her path to understanding things like the eclipse, she has heart. In her calculations, she pushes the envelope. And when she works at NASA one day, she will bring other women along.